We rarely do soup and sandwich night in our house. For some reason, Adam does not like sandwiches for dinner, he thinks they’re more of a lunch thing. After this dinner, I think I’ve almost changed his mind. I was in the mood for a carrot ginger soup and I have to say, this one was totally my own! Well, ok, so not TOTALLY…I did do some googling for inspiration but totally came up with my own version. Make it the day before so your flavors have a chance to really mingle and get to know each other better.
Carrot-Ginger Soup
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 lb carrots, chopped
1 tbsp ginger, finely minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
6 cups chicken or veggie broth
salt and pepper to taste
Heat a big pot over medium-high heat and add a little oil. Saute onion and garlic until softened. Add cumin and cinnamon and saute until you can really smell the spices. Then add carrots and broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until carrots are tender, about 30 minutes. Puree with hand mixer or let cool and pure in blender. Season with salt and pepper.
To go with the Carrot-Ginger soup, I sought advice from my foodie soul mate, Erin. I wanted to do some sort of tuna melt but with a twist. I messaged her my ingredients in the fridge and she gave me some inspiration. I combined a can of tuna with some chopped, blanched broccoli, finely minced onion, greek yogurt and dijon mustard to hold it together. Mounded on some toast and topped with cheddar, these were some pretty good tuna melts.
Proof that soup and sandwich can be a satisfying dinner!
So when I said “burger” in the title, what I actually meant was lentil barley burgers with fiery salsa. Isn’t that what you were thinking too?? A delicious vegetarian main course, the recipe comes from Cooking Light Magazine. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/lentil-barley-burgers-with-fiery-fruit-salsa-10000001964003/ I actually only changed one thing. I came home from the grocery store after purchasing all the necessary ingredients for this recipe when I realized….I didn’t have any eggs! What’s a lentil barley burger craving girl to do? Consulting one of my favorite blogs (see the newly posted blogroll to your right), I used a flax egg instead. Just combine 1 tbsp ground flax seed with 3 tbsp water and let stand for about 5 minutes. It worked like a charm! The only problem is you have to have flax seed in your fridge and my guess is most people are more likely to have eggs and not flax seed but just in case…
Two burgers plated with salsa.
The burgers are a bit delicate so wouldn’t fare well on buns. The flavor was great though…just trust me and try it!
In some blog news, I added a list of restaurants I’ve enjoyed since moving to the Big Apple. I will constantly be updating it in hopes it helps you enjoy some delicious eats!
